Mbappe stars in Real’s victory as Gimenez hands Atleti win vs PSG

Kylian Mbappe scored all four goals as Real Madrid hung on to beat Olympiacos 4-3 in the Champions League on Wednesday and end a three-match winless run in all competitions.

Chiquinho fired home from 20 yards to finish off a neat move as Olympiacos took an early lead in Greece, but Mbappe stole the show and took over as the competition’s leading scorer this season.

The France captain drilled through the legs of Olympiacos goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis to bring Madrid level on 22 minutes after racing onto a sublime ball in behind the defence from Vinicius Junior.

Mbappe struck again two minutes later when he planted a header low into the corner from an Arda Guler cross.

The forward completed the second fastest Champions League hat-trick ever as he ran clear and steered beyond Tzolakis again, his three goals coming in the space of six minutes and 42 seconds.

Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, against Rangers in 2022, has scored a quicker hat-trick in the competition.

Substitute Mehdi Taremi, who replaced the injured Chiquinho in the first half, hauled Olympiacos back into the match with an emphatic header past stand-in Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin on 52 minutes.

The Ukraine international was filling in for Thibaut Courtois, who missed the trip due to illness. Madrid were also without Dean Huijsen, his absence adding to those of Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger in an injury-ravaged defence.

Madrid had never won away to Greek opponents on seven previous visits but Mbappe ensured the Spanish giants put an end to that sequence, turning in his fourth of the night after excellent work by Vinicius down the left.

That took Mbappe to nine goals in five Champions League matches this term, sending him three clear of Victor Osimhen at the top of the scoring charts.

Ayoub El Kaabi halved the deficit with nine minutes left but Madrid clung on to earn their fourth win in five Champions League matches, bouncing back from a loss at Liverpool in their last European outing.

The record 15-time European champions moved up to fifth in the standings with games still to come against Manchester City, Monaco and Benfica.

Meanwhile, Jose Gimenez’s stoppage-time winner earned Atletico Madrid a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, inflicting the Italians’ first defeat in the competition.

Julian Alvarez opened the scoring for Atletico early on as Diego Simeone’s side boosted their chances of a top-eight finish following a mixed start to the league phase.

Piotr Zielinski levelled in the second half for Inter but the visitors faded in the final stages and Atletico capitalised.

Gimenez headed home Antoine Griezmann’s corner to claim a potentially vital triumph for the Rojiblancos at a rocking Metropolitano stadium.

New Inter coach Cristian Chivu started with Lautaro Martinez and Ange-Yoan Bonny up front, benching Marcus Thuram after Sunday’s disappointing derby defeat by AC Milan.

The Italians were also without Denzel Dumfries and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as they sought to maintain what had been a 100 percent start to the competition.

The trip to Madrid offered last season’s beaten finalists their first true test in Europe this term following four comparatively easy fixtures.

Federico Dimarco twice came close in the opening stages, with Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso tipping away his free-kick before the Italian wing-back fired narrowly wide when well placed.

Despite Inter’s enterprising start it was Atletico who took the lead, with Alvarez drilling home from close range when the ball deflected nicely for him.

Although the strike was initially ruled out for handball against Alex Baena, the referee allowed the goal after a VAR review as it appeared to have hit him in the stomach.

It was Alvarez’s 10th goal of the season across all competitions, with the former Manchester City player vital for the Rojiblancos.

Musso, standing in for the injured Jan Oblak, beat away Hakan Calhanoglu’s shot from distance as Inter pushed for an equaliser.

Agencies